Muso or Ruark?

[gra001]

Decided to dip my toe back in the world of decent audio. Historically, kit has included Linn, Michell, Celef, Revox, Meridian but that was all circa 30-40 years ago, now it's an iPhone with Spotify and some earbuds. Some brief research has narrowed my final choice down to two pieces of kit: Naim Muso or Ruark R5, the latter having more features. I'm sure I'd be happy with either but always worth canvassing opinions of the Pistonheads collective...Thanks

[Pedro25]

I've got 2 Ruark 4's one for the kitchen with blutooth streaming and one for the lounge without BT being an earlier model, both sound superb and do really fill the rooms with music. Their technical back up is also excellent I believe they started out providing kit for recording studios and then branched into the home market, Because they aren't a well known brand I get a lot of questions when people see and hear them when visiting. Well put together I'm also looking at the R5 as it looks a really nice piece of kit. Think the R4 is discontinued now but they still sell through some stock online.

[toon10]

I've not heard the Ruark. The Muso sounds pretty good although it can't replicate the imaging or soundstage of a proper stereo setup. I use a Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air in my lounge as a 3rd system and that sounds good for what it is. The Muso is a step up again but it depends on your budget. I wasn't as impressed by the smaller Muso qb version but to be fair, I only heard that in a large department store rather than a listening room so not a good indicator of performance.

I have a few music setups in my house and my 2nd system is a cheap Yamaha RN-602 amp/streamer with some old Tannoy bookshelf speakers which is perfect for Spotify connect but I appreciate it's an old fashioned looking thing and not a nice modern looking one box solution as you need speakers too. Musically, I prefer this setup to my speaker and it's more versatile as you can add analogue or digital sources as you go but probably not what you're after.

[tonyg58]

The R5 is an excellent product, but the only reason to buy it (for me) over the Mu-so is if you want to play CDs.
The wood finish on the Ruark is pretty good, if you want that sort of look. The Mu-so looks a lot more modern.
Regarding the Mu-so Qb from a previous post - in my experience they sound pretty poor out of the box and take a lot of running in, but sound really good when they are run-in.
I'd buy either Naim and use the 3 months free Tidal you get with it to see if I wanted to start paying for it or stick to Spotify.

Edited by tonyg58 on Thursday 24th February 16:46

[matjk]

I had a muso and for a single box they are very good but after it blew up I swapped got a pair of Sonos Play5 which sounds a lot better due to proper stereo , a pair of KEF LFX is also a good alternative,
If it absolutely has to be one box then the muso but if the room allows 2 speakers I would advise something with 2 speakers

[itcaptainslow]

I've got a Ruark R5 and it's a lovely bit of kit-the grey finished version for a more modern look. My Dad is a serious audiophile and the noises it makes get his royal seal of approval.

Works well as a sound bar for the TV, as well as streaming music-the best quality is reserved for playback from CD's of course, but it sounds great streaming via Bluetooth from Spotify on my iPad. Fills my living room beautifully with warm, natural sound without sounding artificial or boomy.

Bonus points for being a British product, too.

[hacksaw]

Another Ruark user here, the R3 though as it fit in the TV stand. No complaints at all.

[LaterLosers]

A bit of a revival as I fancy one of these for Christmas but can’t quite make my mind up.

Was leaning towards the Ruark but lack of apple airplay and the made in China made me switch to favouring the Muso which I can get for under a grand now.

Then spotted a revo which is also designed in England and made in China like Ruark but almost half the price of the other two.

Confused, what do I go for?

[gra001]

I decided on the Muso, very happy

[belleair302]

I have a Ruark in the bedroom and a Muso in the kitchen. Both Dona top job and the sound is very good in both cases. Footprint wise the Muso does a better job but the Ruark is very elegant. Sonos for the study.

[superstreek]

I have the Muso Qb and it does get better with time. Listed the Raurk and in the store it was hard to tell much between them but the foot print of the Muso was better for my purpose. Very solid little thing and has behaved very well for the last year with Spotify, Internet radio and Google cast.

No HDMI on the small model though which is a a bummer.

[mike9009]

I had a Ruark R4i about a decade ago. I was quite disappointed with it and also the support at the time.

The remote was clunky and not intuitive. The CD player was noisy after a year or so ( loud clicking when loading a CD). The DAB seemed a bit flaky at times and tuning it was painful. For what I paid I was disappointed, although the sound quality was lovely.

The support for the various issues was quite poor, mainly based on the fact I live on the Isle of Wight. I haven't bothered buying any 'expensive' audio equipment since based on the experience of what I thought was a premium product. Amazon Alexas are the way forward.

[Tin Hat]

I have found Ruark products to be first class, no complaints at all

[Zero Fuchs]

I've still got a pair of Ruark Templars from when they only made loudspeakers. They were a fantastic manufacturer in their day and a real shame they gave it up. I've not listened to any of their electronic products but can imagine they're top notch.

I've got a Muso QB though and it's brilliant. The regular Muso is also quite astonishing for a single, if large, box. I didn't look at the competition as I've also got a Nova so wanted the multi room capability. Plus Naim are famed for being able to repair any of their products if any age. Sadly this doesn't apply to their 1st gen QB's so waited for the 2nd gen.

I can't imagine you'd go wrong with either though so could just come down to looks.

[legzr1]

gra001 said:

I decided on the Muso, very happy

Good choice.

[ianrb]

LaterLosers said:

A bit of a revival as I fancy one of these for Christmas but can’t quite make my mind up.

Was leaning towards the Ruark but lack of apple airplay and the made in China made me switch to favouring the Muso which I can get for under a grand now.

Then spotted a revo which is also designed in England and made in China like Ruark but almost half the price of the other two.

Confused, what do I go for?

The Muso range are built in China too, although desined in the UK.

[JatHanspal]

Not sure on budgets, constraints etc etc - but I upgraded from my broken Zeppelin to a Formation Wedge. I found it tonally better than the zeppelin, but lacked punch at lower volumes. I struck lucky with an open box Formation Bass to match - job done, its now awesome and gives me flexibility to build out to more speakers if I want.

Currently running this in my office, and its more than enough (maybe overkill) - I could easily use it in a bigger room and have confidence it would work really well.

Peter Tyson and Richer Sounds sometimes have good open box bargains on this stuff.

[Spleen]

JatHanspal said:

Peter Tyson and Richer Sounds sometimes have good open box bargains on this stuff.

I had a particularly impressive interaction with PT and an open box NDX2 about 18 months ago. Ordered it off the website and when it turned up it was anything but an open box, knackered box (wrong one too), no manuals, no remote, cables, no nothing just the streamer. All for a cheeky sum, a premium associated with an open box product.

Politely complained but made sure they knew I was not a happy bunny. Within a few hours they offered to let me keep the one I had and would send a new box with relevant accessories or would order me a brand new one from the factory. I went for the latter, not surprisingly.

I was pretty stunned to be honest, they also sent a remote by special delivery so I could use the one they’d sent until the new one turned up.

Happy days.